As India’s tourism sector expands beyond conventional leisure destinations, hospitality is evolving to meet the expectations of travellers who value meaningful experiences as much as comfortable stays. Spiritual destinations are increasingly emerging as lifestyle and wellness hubs, creating new opportunities for premium hospitality developments. In this interview, Neeraj Gulati, Managing Director, Assotech, discusses the changing dynamics of India’s hospitality sector, the growing appeal of pilgrimage destinations, and how Sandal Suites, Shirdi is responding to the evolving needs of modern travellers.
1. The hospitality sector is witnessing a growing shift towards experience-led travel over conventional stays. How do you see lifestyle and destination-focused hospitality evolving in India, especially across emerging markets?
The shift towards experience-led travel reflects how traveller expectations have evolved. The reason being travelers today prefer experiences that are cultural, wellness, culinary, and personalised over traditional accommodations. Such a change can be seen in the growth trends in the market as well. For instance, it has been predicted that the expenditure on experiences in India will increase with a CAGR of 10.3% between 2025 and 2030.
In the future, immense possibilities await us in new destinations like Shirdi, Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Tirupati. With 4.13 billion domestic tourist footfalls in the year 2025 across India, it is clear that domestic tourism is on an upward trend, with more people venturing out into other destinations besides metros. In these changing times, customers would demand from hoteliers much more than a comfortable stay experience. As this momentum gathers pace, the category will evolve towards more distinctive, destination-led stays where design, modern comfort, dining, and wellness are shaped by the character of each place.
2. India’s hospitality and tourism industry is expanding beyond metro cities. What key opportunities do you see driving growth in tier-II and pilgrimage-led destinations over the next few years?
India’s hospitality and tourism industry is expanding beyond metro cities as the biggest opportunity lies in reimagining tier-II and pilgrimage destinations as complete travel ecosystems rather than places people simply pass through. Better infrastructure, connectivity and projects like PRASHAD and Swadesh Darshan are making it easier to reach these destinations, while evolving travel needs are increasing demands for travel experience beyond its main objective.
Today’s tourists are increasingly blending their spiritual journeys with relaxation, wellbeing, food, and culture, providing scope for extended visits and increased spend on hospitality. Such confidence shows in the Indian hospitality industry in terms of the 51,647 room keys that have been committed to India till 2025, out of which 71% have been to tier-II and tier-III cities. Going forward, the brands that succeed will be those that create a genuine sense of place—blending local culture, thoughtful experiences, and contemporary comfort to become an integral part of the journey rather than simply a place to stay.
3. What was the thought process behind launching Sandal Suites in Shirdi, and how does the project aim to redefine the hospitality experience in a spiritual destination?
The thought process behind Sandal Suites, Shirdi, was rooted in recognising a clear gap in how spiritual destinations are served in India. Shirdi welcomes around 25000 pilgrims daily, including NRIs and foreign tourists from all corners of the world, but the hospitality sector has been limited to basic lodging facilities without giving much attention to the design aspect of their stay experience. The idea was to introduce a luxury pilgrimage stay that ensures privacy, peace, and a premium experience for every guest, with a strong sense of calm and clarity.
The main objective of the project is to revamp the concept of hospitality at the spiritual destination by moving away from simple accommodation to a holistic premium experience of staying. It provides spacious accommodation, efficient service, and tranquil surroundings, allowing visitors to relax, contemplate, and revitalise themselves after their spiritual tour. In this manner, Sandal Suites sets itself apart by being an integral part of the pilgrimage journey where comfort and spirituality coexist seamlessly.
4. Spiritual tourism in India is witnessing significant growth with travellers now seeking comfort, wellness and curated experiences alongside religious visits. How is Sandal Suites aligning with this evolving consumer behaviour?
Spiritual tourism in India is on the rise, fueled by the scale of operations, with 303 crore domestic tourists visiting till August 2025, out of which 60% have made their trips for religious reasons, indicating the significance of spiritual tourism within the tourism industry. At the same time, the tourists seek to have access to leisure and wellness facilities during their visit to religious spots, thereby transforming their tourism trip into one that involves spirituality and reflection in addition to family bonding.
With rising expectations, wellness and comfort have become an essential part of spiritual tourism. In order to meet those expectations, at Sandal Suites, Shirdi, we have responded by creating a luxury pilgrim stay with 160 exclusively designed suites, a dedicated spa and wellness space, multiple dining options, and premium guest services. The focus is on offering a calm, serene and rejuvenating atmosphere to the visitors, where they feel relaxed, ensuring their overall journey feels complete, seamless, and genuinely enriching.
5. Today’s travellers are placing equal emphasis on location, convenience, amenities and immersive experiences. How is Assotech responding to these changing expectations through its hospitality developments?
Today’s travellers now value location, convenience, amenities, and immersive experiences equally, making hospitality firmly experience-led. Nearly 80% of Indian travellers consider accommodation the most important part of their holiday experience, underscoring how central the stay has become.
At Assotech, we respond by creating projects that fit into the context and are relevant to strong travel intention, whereby our locations are carefully selected to be close to places of spirituality, leisure or business. Convenience will come with easy navigation, comfort and personalisation.
As hygiene, connectivity, and reliability have now become prerequisites, it is differentiation through space planning and experience design. We do this by carefully integrating cultural experiences and wellness-focused environments to ensure that each of our developments provides an integrated and memorable combination of convenience, comfort, and hospitality. This is how we create hospitality that feels purposeful, effortless, and deeply human at scale today.
